A potential new drug target for an aggressive form of leukaemia
Cancer types:
Leukaemia
Project period:
–
Research institute:
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Award amount:
£239,259
Location:
Australia
Professor Suzanne Cory aims to find out how a specific protein in our cells is involved in helping leukaemia cells stay alive.
Meet the scientist
Suzanne is Professor in the Division of Blood Cells and Blood Cancer at the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Australia. A world-leader in the field of immunology and cancer, Suzanne has made fundamental discoveries about the genetics of cancer that have helped to improve diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Suzanne was the first elected female President of the Australian Academy of Science and former Director of the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.
The science
Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a relatively rare form of leukaemia with around 350,000 people worldwide diagnosed each year. Although rare, survival rates are low, with only around 15% of people surviving the disease for more than 5 years after diagnosis.
Professor Suzanne Cory is studying the role of MNT, an antagonist of the protein MYC, to explore its role in enabling AML cells to stay alive in the body. By unravelling the molecular connections that link MNT to cancer, they hope to discover a new target for drug development for AML.
The gene Myc is faulty in over half of all cancers and is a key driver of cancer development and progression. Finding ways to target this gene would represent a huge step in cancer therapy but has so far proven to be extremely challenging for scientists.
Active USA
Leukaemia
This project is finding out more about a key molecule in the growth of acute myeloid leukaemia to hopefully reveal clues to better, more effective treatments.
Researcher: Dr Bruno Di Stefano
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This project hopes to reveal new, better, immunotherapy treatments for leukaemia by boosting a different cell in our immune system from other treatments.
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